


Sisterhood of the Survival Show

by NoSanaNoLife



Category: IZONE (Band)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-04
Updated: 2019-06-13
Packaged: 2020-04-07 16:11:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19088524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoSanaNoLife/pseuds/NoSanaNoLife
Summary: One-shots about IZ*ONE members. Chapter 2: Minju practices tirelessly for Mirotic.





	1. Love You

The second alarm for the day went off.

Minju groaned and tried to bury herself deeper into her pillow in a vain attempt to ignore the sound. But sadly, pillows were not the best insulators of sound, and the loud blaring did not stop ringing inside her head. She whimpered and tried to figure out why Yena and Chaewon weren’t doing anything.

“Yah! Kim Minju! Get up!”

Eunbi’s voice pierced the pillow barrier, and Minju let out another groan of protest before begrudgingly opening her eyes. She could see the silhouette of her leader, hanging over Minju’s bed with her hands on her hips.

“Wake up Yujin and get ready for school! I made breakfast and you guys better eat it before it gets cold!”

Minju sleepily shook her head. “Unnie I hate you.”

Eunbi chuckled, understanding Minju’s groggy state. “Love you too, you brat. Now go wake Yujin.”

As Eunbi walked out of the room, Minju collected all of her resolve and pulled herself into a sitting position. Looking around, she could see that Yena and Chaewon had disappeared from the room for some reason. Somehow the older members had woken up before Minju. _They don’t even have school!_ Minju thought.

Finally, Minju got out of bed and shakily walked over to the other room to get Yujin. The maknae of the dorm was lying haphazardly on the bed, and Minju would’ve found it adorable if she wasn’t cranky.

“Hey! Get up!”

The hyperactive puppy remained dormant, and Minju sidled closer to the bed to physically push Yujin.

“Please Yujin, rise and shine! If you don’t get up soon, Eunbi is gonna yell at me and say ‘Minju again.’ Again.”

Yujin seemed to be gaining some form of consciousness, as she responded to Minju’s touch by grabbing her hand and trying to pull Minju into bed.

“I don’t wanna!”

“I’m serious! Get up! I’m not missing Eunbi’s breakfast for you.”

“Mmmm, food…” Yujin started drooling and feigned dreaming. Minju was torn between being annoyed and adoring the younger girl.

“Have I ever told you how much I love you?” MInju finally tried. Yujin couldn’t help the smile from appearing on her face and Minju knew that the younger girl was conscious by now. “Nice try Ahn Yujin. But you really do need to get up. I’m not joining you in bed.”

Yujin, admitting defeat, opened her eyes and rubbed them. “I’m up. I’m up.” Minju, satisfied that her job had been done, finally left the room to begin her own preparations.

…

Minju ended up leaving in a timely manner, enjoying a quiet breakfast with Yena and Hyewon.

But Yujin left like a hurricane, giving her morning greetings while simultaneously stuffing some toast into her mouth. By then, Hyewon had been relaxing on the couch, aimlessly staring at the off TV. A sudden gust grabbed her attention, and Yujin ran by with another piece of bread in her mouth and her backpack hanging from a single shoulder. 

“Bye unnie! Love you!” And Yujin slammed the door behind her before Hyewon could even respond. The older pouted. _I wish she would take her education more seriously_ , Hyewon thought absentmindedly while finishing off her toast. She whined a little at her loss of food, but then an angel brought a bowl of strawberries onto the living room table.

Hyewon started beaming as she reached over to start munching on her next snack. “Thanks Chaewon. How can anyone not fall in love with you?”

Chaewon smiled back. “If all it takes to win your heart are some strawberries, then you’re a little too easy unnie.” Chaewon plopped herself into the spot next to Hyewon, and the older naturally wrapped an arm around Chaewon’s shoulders. Chaewon put on some random channel and the two relaxed, enjoying their morning before their schedules began.

Yena suddenly came out of her room, dressed casually in sweatpants and a sweatshirt. She made her way to the foyer of the dorm and began putting on her shoes.

Chaewon and Hyewon leaned forward. “Hey, are you heading out somewhere?” Hyewon asked.

“No,” Yena replied. “Just heading to the other dorm.”

“Yah, Eunbi already gave you breakfast, don’t eat the maknae line’s food!” Chaewon warned.

Yena smiled sheepishly, her intentions being easily sniffed out. “What can I say? Chaeyeon’s cooking is to die for.”

“Yah! Then move in with her!” Eunbi shouted from her room. The rest of the girls giggled and Yena opened the door.

“Come back soon! We have a photoshoot later!” Hyewon calls out.

Yena gives a thumbs up and steps most of the way through the door.

“Love you!” Chaewon affectionately calls out. “Tell Yuri the same for me!”

The door slams a little louder than necessary.

…

The other dorm is as boisterous as usual. The tall maknae had disappeared for school, but the J-line were noisy enough in the dining room.

Chaeyeon had just unloaded some freshly prepared pancakes when she heard someone come through the front door.

“Mom! I’m back!”

Chaeyeon smiled and shook her head. “Unnie, you need to give me a heads up when you’re coming. I would’ve prepared more.”

Yena came into view, grinning. “I don’t want to miss surprising you guys!”

The table cheered their greetings. Yuri came running out of her room to go hug Yena.

“Unnie!” Yuri pounced on Yena, and the older girl barely had time to rebalance. Yena sends a grateful glance to Chaeyeon, who had swiftly moved to support Yena before returning the hug.

“Hey honey. Chaewon says hi.”

“And what do you say?” Yuri asked. Eyebrows teasingly raised. Yena rolled her eyes and smirked.

“I love you too you brat.”

Yuri smiled and dragged Yena to the dining table, where Chaeyeon had brought out some extra fruit for her unnie to eat.

Yuri managed to snag a pancake from a dieting Nako, and she beamed at the fluffiness. “Chaeyeon, if you keep making breakfast this good, I’m gonna fall in love with you too.” She said while feeding Yena a piece.

Chaeyeon gave a cheerful smile in return. Sakura made a cheeky joke about Chaeyeon looking like an old man with her large glasses, and it started another round of bickering at the table.

The table resumed talking about nonsense. Yuri and Yena doing their usual banter. Sakura teasing Hitomi, and Nako trying to get Chaeyeon to stop laughing at everything Sakura says to help HItomi. It’s a comfortable normalcy that grounds the members and helps them relax in between stressful schedules.

Eventually, the members had to get ready for their photoshoots. But as always, the members were slow to move.

“Guys, let’s clean up now!” Chaeyeon says while reluctantly rising from her seat. “We need to get ready.”

Chaeyeon pouted when she heard a round of murmured agreement but no movement. She gave Sakura a look, who chuckled to herself before getting up herself.

“Hey, get a move on! Let’s go!” Sakura says a bit more forcefully. Everyone sighed in resignation, and began to get up and clean things. Yena and Yuri disentangle themselves and start throwing away the trash while Hitomi and Nako move to start the dishes.

Chaeyeon walks over to Sakura and gives the latter a brief hug. “I love it when you do that,” she says.

Sakura laughs in return. “You just need to put a little more force in your tone.”

Chaeyeon pouts again and Sakura internally screams at the sight. “I just can’t yell at them,” Chaeyeon admits. “I don’t want to be upset or upset them.”

Rather than give a comforting gesture, Sakura pushed Chaeyeon’s head forcefully with her index finger. Chaeyeon’s pout deepened.

“You’re overthinking. Yelling at these kids to clean up after themselves won’t really upset them,” Sakura reasons. “They’ve not living with their parents anymore. So we need to help them grow up and teach them how to live responsibly. In a sense, we really are the parents.”

“Ah, this must be the mature Miyawaki Sakura who had to raise 47 kids back in Japan,” Chaeyeon teases. Sakura laughed loudly and lightly slapped Chaeyeon’s shoulder. “But you’re right. I’ll try harder to be more stern with the kiddos.”

“You’re doing fine,” Sakura comforts. “Again, it’s they’re fault. These brats.”

“Yah, stop calling me a brat! I’m older than Chaeyeon!” Yena whines while walking by.

“If you would stop coming over just to eat food and flirt with Yuri, then I wouldn’t treat you like one!” Sakura retaliates. Soon, the two start arguing playfully, and Chaeyeon shakes her head and goes back to her room to change. There are never truly quiet and peaceful moments in her dorm, but Chaeyeon wouldn’t ask for it any other way.

…

The girls were finally returning after a long day of work. It was almost midnight, and all of the members were exhausted because they woke up so early. Wonyoung and Yujin in particular looked exhausted after getting up early and attending their classes. The duo split off and quickly prepared for bed, looking to get the minimum amount of sleep before they go to school again.

Nako glanced at a sleepy Wonyoung entering the bathroom. “She’s lucky,” Nako says absentmindedly. Sakura, who was idly playing on her Switch on the couch nearby, looked up in confusion.

“Why? I wouldn’t want to go to school tomorrow,” Sakura says, a grimace appearing on her face.

“No no that,” Nako clarifies. “She’s already tall, so she doesn’t need to sleep as much. I remember trying so hard to sleep early, even when I joined HKT48, just to try and grow as much as possible.” The younger Japanese girl had a slight frown.

Sakura paused her game, and scooted over next to Nako to envelop her in a hug.

“I love you just the way you are Nako-chan. Stay small and cute forever.”

Nako couldn’t stop herself from smiling and the two settled themselves into a comfortable position. Sakura continued playing her game while Nako silently watched.

At that moment, Hitomi walked into the living room, looking for some bread to munch on before bed. Seeing that there wasn’t any bread lying around, she moved to the living room and saw Nako and Sakura cuddling. A quick pout settled on the Japanese girl’s lips.

“Hey hey hey. Is this a HKT48-only cuddle?” Hitomi teased as she approached the duo on the couch.

“Of course not,” Nako immediately rebutted. “All AKB48 members are welcome. We love our sister groups as much as we love each other!” Nako’s boldness put a blush on Hitomi’s cheeks and Sakura laughed.

“Ehhh, don’t be so embarrassed Hii-chan. Just come here already!” Sakura said. Hitomi quickly jumped on top of them, pushing the group over and nearly making Sakura drop her Switch. Sakura shrieked, and Nako and Hitomi started laughing at the woman’s overreaction.

Before Sakura could retaliate and scold the duo, Wonyoung’s face popped from behind the bathroom door.

“Unnies!” Wonyoung tried to sound upset, but it came off as a childish whine instead. “Can you guys please keep it down?! I need to get up early again tomorrow. Chaeyeon said she wouldn’t make me breakfast tomorrow if I didn’t get up on time.”

The Japanese trio looked at one another before looking at Wonyoung sympathetically.

“Nothing is more horrifying than Chaeyeon threatening to take away breakfast,” Nako acknowledged.

“Sorry Wonyoung-ah! We’ll quiet down and get ready to sleep soon too,” Sakura apologized.

“Love you!” Hitomi said while giving the maknae double peace signs. Wonyoung couldn’t keep up her mad façade, and cracked a smile.

“Thanks guys, good night!”

As Wonyoung entered the bedroom, the rest of the J-line high-fived at a successful pacification.

…

As Wonyoung lay in bed, preparing to sleep, a crack in the door caught her attention. She expected one of her roommates to be coming in to sleep or retrieve something, but it was Eunbi instead.

“Unnie?” Wonyoung asked groggily. “Is it morning already?”

Eunbi chuckled. “No silly. I was just talking to Chaeyeon about some plans for tomorrow so she can brief you guys at breakfast tomorrow. Don’t worry about it for now. Just get plenty of rest. We can’t have IZ*ONE’s genius falling asleep in class.”

Wonyoung smiled at the praise, and raised her arms. Eunbi rolled her eyes good-naturedly, and walked over to give the maknae a goodnight hug.

“Night Wonyoung-ah. Sleep well.”

“Mm thanks unnie,” Wonyoung says, her fatigue finally catching up to her and forcing her eyelids closed. As Eunbi started to leave the room, Wonyoung started mumbling. “I love you…”

Eunbi turns and smiles at Wonyoung, who was completely knocked out and snoring lightly. She giggles and closes the door. As she passes by the living room, she quietly wishes the J-line a good night. They all throw her various hearts and silly faces, and Eunbi does her best to keep her laughs as quiet as possible.

On the short trip between dorms, Eunbi reflected on the long day that started with a calm morning and ended with some loving goodnights. Being a member IZ*ONE was always incredibly exhausting, but the love she received from her members and fans gave her all the energy she needed to get through the day.

Eunbi reached her dorm, and slipped past Yena, Hyewon, and Chaewon, who were focused on a game Hyewon was playing. In the bathroom, Minju poked her head out to garble a goodnight before returning to the mirror.

She peeked into Yujin’s room, to find the puppy-like girl knocked out and sprawled on the bed. Eunbi smiled and walked to the clock resting by the bedside. On the clock, was a hastily scribbled post-it note, threatening the reader not to set an alarm or else face the consequences.  

Eunbi smirked and set an alarm for 6:30 AM.

“Love you too, you brat.”


	2. Under Minju's Skin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Minju practices tirelessly for Mirotic.

Minju fell onto the ground. Her quick and ragged breaths echoed throughout the practice room. She looked up in the mirror, and flinched a little at the sight. Her hair was all over the place, and she could see how the dark her shirt had become from all of the sweat.

She forced herself to rise, and felt some of her bones cracking from the stress. _Maybe some stretches before I continue_ , Minju thought. No point in injuring herself before the big performance. She was already enough of a hindrance.

Next week, the girls would be doing two performances: the Rumor team would be dancing to Mirotic, and the rest of the members would be doing a cuter song. And she was internally torn.

On the one hand, it was an honor to have been selected to be performing alongside the Rumor team. They were easily the best performers in IZ*ONE, and Minju was happy to be on stage with them. On the other hand, she was under so much pressure. Her dancing was nowhere near as good as Yena’s or Chaeyeon’s. Her voice didn’t have the strength that Chaewon’s and Eunbi’s did.

The thought of being performing next to them made her incredibly nervous. So much so that Minju had started spending as much free time as possible practicing on her own. The rest of the girls had mastered the dance so quickly. Meanwhile, Minju was struggling to nail all of the intricacies.

She refused to let everyone down.

Minju forced her body to get up, and she started the dance routine one more time. Her body was intimately familiar with the moves, so she focused on her expression: minimizing her breathing and keeping her face cool and alluring. Connecting her body and her face was essential for giving off the mature and girl crush vibe this performance demanded.

Unfortunately, she was so focused on her face that she suddenly slipped on the sweat she had left on the floor earlier. Minju went from looking at her face to staring at the ceiling. Then the pain of falling on her back hit her, and Minju grunted in frustration and shame.

_Great_ , Minju bemoaned. _And now I might be injured. Perfect. You did it again, Minju._

Minju brought her hands and covered her face. She suddenly felt heavier, like she couldn’t generate enough strength to move. It wasn’t an unfamiliar experience: during Produce, there were times where Minju would feel completely overwhelmed. By the talent of the other idols, the eyes of the public, and the pressure to perform and succeed. She hasn’t felt this way in a long time, thanks to the support of the members.

But now that she was essentially being forced to step up, that fear began to take hold of her again and paralyze her. She wanted to sob, but it was almost stuck in her throat, so she started coughing instead. Minju briefly wondered if this was how she died, panicking on the floor while sweaty and unable to cry out for help. She wondered what else could possibly go wrong.

The door suddenly opened, and a voice pierced through the maelstrom of thoughts in Minju’s head. “Minju!”

_Even better_ , Minju cursed internally. _Eunbi can see me in this sorry state and I can die of embarrassment._

Eunbi ran over, and quickly fell to her knees and started looking over the younger woman. Scanning Minju, Eunbi let out a sigh of relief when she saw no cuts or bones out of place. But she noticed that Minju was breathing erratically, and her concern quickly returned.

“Minju-ya,” Eunbi said quietly. “I need you to slow down. Take some deep breaths.”

Minju shook her head, hands stubbornly glued to leave her face. Eunbi frowned. It wasn’t like Minju, who was always eager and engaged, to be in such a languished state. Seeing how soaked Minju’s clothes were, Eunbi stepped away for a moment to give Minju some space and to find a towel and a water bottle.

Thankful that Eunbi was away for a moment, Minju tried hard to compose herself. She focused on her breath, like Eunbi recommended, slowing it down and taking deeper gulps of air. Her shaking gradually stopped, and she felt her heartbeat slow down. Eunbi, seeing Minju get quieter, shot off a quick text before rejoining Minju. She passed the water bottle to Minju, who drank greedily. Eunbi soothingly rubbed Minju’s thigh.

“So wanna tell me what you were doing on the floor?” Eunbi asks, her tone soft.

Minju sighed loudly and finally put down the water bottle. “I was practicing Mirotic.”

Eunbi smiled. She admired the younger woman for working so tirelessly. It was quite obvious that Minju was a hard worker, and was eager to prove herself to the members, fans, and anybody else who was looking to watch.

“I didn’t realize we had to lie on the floor for that dance,” Eunbi lightly teased. It managed to get a chuckle from the exhausted girl. “Why don’t we go home?”

“I’m just a little winded unnie,” Minju said. “Give me a minute and I’ll go back to practice.”

Eunbi frowned. She had to think carefully on how to approach Minju. Typically, she could just scold the troublemakers in the group and they would fall into line. But Minju had always been obedient and well-behaved. Maybe a more crafty and psychological tactic was necessary.

“Mmm, no.” Eunbi said simply. Minju’s eyes bugged out comically, and Eunbi fought to keep her leader façade.

“But I need to practice!”

“No.”

“Just tonight?”

“No.”

“One more hour?”

Eunbi gave this one some thought. “Okay. One hour. And then I’m taking your sweaty butt home.”

Minju gave a small smile. “Unnie, that’s inappropriate.”

Eunbi pinched the bridge of her nose. “You’re spending too much time with Yena and Hyewon during gaming nights.”

“Maybe that’s why I need so much practice,” Minju whined.

“Is that what this is about?” Eunbi probes. Minju covers her face with the towel. Eunbi takes it back, and Minju’s pout would have been so adorable if it weren’t for the fact that the woman was on the verge of tears. “You know that you were good at the last practice. You’re ready for next week.”

“But not as ready as you guys are,” Minju admits.

“It’s one performance Minju-ya,” Eunbi says, while pushing Minju’s frazzled hair out of her face. “You should give it your best, but it’s not something worth killing yourself over.”

“I…” Minju hesitates. The last thing she wanted to do was burden Eunbi with her inner turmoil. She wonders how difficult it must be, to be a leader of 12 and have to shoulder all of their problems. Wasn’t it enough to suffer alone? Why should she trouble others?

But Eunbi took Minju’s hand, and intertwined their fingers. She gave Minju a look that was both encouraging and threatening. It said, _I’m happy to listen, so you better tell me._ Minju sighed, accepting that this was truly out of her hands now. This must be what a true leader looks like.

“I don’t want to embarrass myself. Or embarrass IZ*ONE.”

“You’re not embarrassing Minju. We’re very proud of you. Everyone realizes that you didn’t have the privilege of training as long as the rest of us have. You’re doing great, and you’re improving so quickly. There’s a reason we’ve trusted you to be our center so many times.”

“But what if I fuck up?” Minju asks shyly.

“Then we move on,” Eunbi answers nonchalantly. “We’re going to perform hundreds, if not a thousand, times. A few bad performances will amount to nothing in the end. You’re ready for this. You killed it in Rumor.”

“I was only selected cause the other members were too young,” Minju protests.

“And still they chose you over Hyewon and Sakura, who have their own struggles,” Eunbi factually counters. “They’ll be good enough soon anyways. But for now, we need you. We believe in you. You got this.”

Minju, out of excuses, let her head fall back on the ground. Eunbi was quick to pull Minju towards her, and placed Minju’s head on her lap. She soothingly stroked Minju’s hair while the latter closed her eyes and let Eunbi’s pep talk sink in. They sat in silence for a few minutes, relaxing and taking the time to reflect on one another’s words.

Minju took a deep breath. It was true that her abilities weren’t up to par. But it was also true that she was improving. Self-criticism came so easily to Minju, and the doubts creeped up faster than she could keep them down on her own. But she let Eunbi’s words wash over her thoughts, and resolved to stay strong. Regardless of her current abilities, Eunbi was right. They needed her now. They wanted her now.

_I’ll live up to those expectations_ , Minju promised herself.

The peaceful moment was interrupted when a loud Yena barged into the room.

“Yo!” Yena cheerfully declared. Chaewon strolled in behind her, looking slightly embarrassed at Yena’s loud entrance. “We’re here to do some practicing! Of course our leader and frog are already way ahead of us. As expected!”

The duo walked over to Minju and Eunbi. Yena wordlessly took the towel from Eunbi and began wiping off the sweat from the floor. Meanwhile, Chaewon gave Minju a look and frowned.

“You’re really wet,” Chaewon stated monotonously. Minju giggled nervously, before a shirt was thrusted into her hands. “Dry off and change please. I really don’t want your sweat to spray everywhere while we dance.” Minju smiled and rolled her eyes at Chaewon’s roundabout display of affection.

“Couldn’t you guys at least have left the door open for me? I brought these cause you asked for them Yena-unnie!” Chaeyeon slipped into the room with an arm full of snacks. Yena gave a sheepish grin, and Chaeyeon started complaining about Yena’s irresponsibility as an unnie. Chaewon grabbed three snacks, and handed them to Eunbi and Minju.

The five members sat around for a few minutes, enjoying their food while Minju caught her breath. They chatted about random topics, ranging from how much money Yena makes from the Mafia show to how cute Nako’s outfit was today.

Finally, Minju said she was ready, and all the girls rose as one to practice. Minju looked in the mirror, and saw all of the other members eagerly looking at her. She was still exhausted, but the cheerful looks relieved her fatigue.

She should’ve known. Her members would never judge her for being inferior. They were only interested in supporting her and raising her higher. The pressure had been self-imposed, and Minju realized that even if she still had her doubts, Eunbi, Chaeyeon, Yena, and Chaewon all thought she was good enough.

And that was enough for her.

Eunbi claps her hands together. “Let’s do it from the top!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading. any critique is welcome.


End file.
